california

An elaborate and illegal camouflaged residence, outfitted with bunk beds and a barbecue patio, has been discovered near a Los Angeles County animal refuge.
Eight months ago, Robert Downs, 51, set up a small structure in the woods near the Tujunga Ponds Wildlife Sanctuary in Sunland, Calif. To hide his home from police, Downs, who was previously homeless, sprayed it with camouflage paint and cut down nearby trees, said Johnie Jones, a deputy in the Parks Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

WASHINGTON - Advocates of a Colorado campaign aimed at legalizing marijuana through the ballot box are directly targeting the most difficult voters to win over on the issue: parents. "Please, card my son," the billboard reads, which went up Wednesday across from the Denver Broncos' stadium and displays a father with his arm on his son's shoulder.

A collection of some of California’s best-known chefs, including four-star celebrities like Thomas Keller, began a full-course press on the state’s legislators on Monday, hoping to prevent a long-simmering ban on foie gras from taking effect on July 1.
The group, which calls itself the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards, delivered a charter statement to lawmakers in Sacramento, advocating a wide variety of new animal-friendly commitments, including cage-free birds and hand feeding, to replace the current law, which would effectively bar foie gras from the state’s menus.

In France, raw milk is happily sold in vending machines on street corners, but in California -- a state which used to represent a healthy, happy lifestyle -- raw milk advocates are targeted by the state as criminals, then subjected to personal vengeance campaigns run by the DA's office.

A day of boisterous protests over cuts to higher education that included thousands of students swarming the state Capitol ended with dozens of arrests after demonstrators refused to leave the building. Authorities on Monday evening arrested 68 people, most of whom will be charged with trespassing, the California Highway Patrol said.

The San Francisco ban on providing free toys to entice children to eat unhealthy foods goes into effect Thursday, but McDonald’s plans to comply with the law by charging 10 cents a toy for their Happy Meals and donating the money to the nonprofit Ronald McDonald House.

By John Hoeffel, Los Angeles Times
October 7, 2011
Federal prosecutors are threatening to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries throughout California, sending letters that warn landlords to stop sales of the drug within 45 days or face the possibility that their property will be seized and they will be charged with a crime.

Federal prosecutors have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges and confiscation of their property even if they are operating legally under the state's 15-year-old medical-marijuana law.